Pitching Training Kit

ABSTRACT

A pitching training kit for practicing throwing pitches for baseball and softball includes a placard that is positionable against a vertical support surface. A ball is provided that has placement indicia printed thereon. The placement indicia indicate where the user should place their fingers and thumb for throwing various types of pitches for baseball or softball. An instructional pamphlet is provided that has instructions for throwing various pitches for baseball or softball.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM.

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to training devices and more particularly pertains to a new training device for practicing pitches for baseball and softball.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to training devices including a variety of baseballs with placement indicia printed thereon for indicating finger placement for specific baseball pitches. The prior art includes a batting practice cage that suspends a strike zone cage in front of a baseball for batting practice. The prior art discloses a baseball with tactile surfaces and placement indicia for practicing baseball pitches. The prior art additionally discloses a baseball with an elongated member attached thereto for maintaining center of gravity of the baseball.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a placard that is positionable against a vertical support surface. A ball is provided that has placement indicia printed thereon. The placement indicia indicate where the user should place their fingers and thumb for throwing various types of pitches for baseball or softball. An instructional pamphlet is provided that has instructions for throwing various pitches for baseball or softball.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pitching training kit according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a baseball of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective in-use view of a baseball of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 4 thereof, a new training device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4, the pitching training kit 10 generally comprises a placard 12 that is positionable against a vertical support surface 14. In this way the placard 12 is oriented to be visible to a user 16 that is practicing throwing baseball and softball pitches. The placard 12 has a front surface 18 and a back surface 20, and the back surface 20 is positionable against the vertical support surface 14. The placard 12 has a width of approximately 17.0 inches and a height of at least 34.0 inches thereby facilitating the placard 12 to simulate the size of the strike zone in American baseball. The placard 12 may include adhesive strips or the like on the back surface 20 for releasably engaging the vertical support surface 14. In this way the placard 12 can be positioned at a desired height on the vertical support surface 14.

A ball 22 is included that has placement indicia 24 printed thereon. The placement indicia 24 indicate where the user 16 should place their fingers 26 and thumb 28 for throwing various types of pitches for baseball or softball. The ball 22 has an outer surface 30 and the outer surface 30 has a seam 32 therein. The seam 32 undulates along the outer surface 30 in an approximate figure eight shape for simulating the appearance of an American baseball.

The placement indicia 24 comprise a plurality of spots 34, or various geometric shapes, and each of the spots 34 is positioned at strategic locations on the outer surface 30 of the ball 22. Each of the spots 34 has a unique color with respect to each other. Additionally, the ball 22 has a resiliently compressible core 36 thereby facilitating the ball 22 to bounce from the placard 12 toward the user 16 when the ball 22 is thrown against the placard 12. The ball 22 may have a circumference of approximately 9.0 inches and a weight of approximately 5.0 ounces to simulate the size and weight of an American baseball.

An instructional pamphlet 38 is provided that has instructions for throwing various pitches for baseball or softball. The instructions include descriptions of which placement indicia 24 each of the user's 16 fingers 26 and thumb 28 should be positioned for throwing each of the pitches for baseball or softball. In this way the instructional pamphlet 38 assists with teaching the user 16 to throw the various pitches for baseball and softball.

In use, the placard 12 is positioned against the vertical support surface 14 and the user 16 stands a desired distance away from the placard 12. The user 16 places specific fingers and their thumb on respective placement indicia 24 on the ball 22 and the user 16 subsequently throws the ball 22 against the placard 12. In this way the user 16 can practice throwing various pitches for baseball and softball. The ball 22 bounces off of the placard 12 each time the ball 22 is thrown against it to return the ball 22 to the user 16.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, kit and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

1. A pitching training kit for training a user to throw various types of pitches for baseball or softball, said kit comprising: a placard being positionable against a vertical support surface wherein said placard is configured to be visible to a user; a ball having placement indicia being printed thereon wherein said placement indicia are configured to indicate where the user should place their fingers and thumb for throwing various types of pitches for baseball or softball, wherein said ball has an outer surface, said outer surface having a seam therein, said seam undulating along said outer surface for simulating the appearance of an American baseball, said placement indicia being positioned exclusively on said outer surface spaced from said seam; and an instructional pamphlet having instructions for throwing various pitches for baseball or softball.
 2. The kit according to claim 1, wherein said placard has a front surface and a back surface, said back surface being positionable against the vertical support surface.
 3. (canceled)
 4. The kit according to claim 3, wherein said placement indicia comprising a plurality of spots, each of said spots being positioned at strategic locations on said outer surface of said ball, each of said spots having a unique color with respect to each other.
 5. The kit according to claim 1, wherein said ball has a resiliently compressible core thereby facilitating said ball to bounce from said placard toward the user when said ball is thrown against said placard.
 6. The kit according to claim 1, wherein said instructions in said instructional pamphlet include descriptions of which placement indicia each of the user's fingers and thumb should be positioned for throwing each of the pitches for baseball or softball.
 7. A pitching training kit for training a user to throw various types of pitches for baseball or softball, said kit comprising: a placard being positionable against a vertical support surface wherein said placard is configured to be visible to a user, said placard having a front surface and a back surface, said back surface being positionable against the vertical support surface; a ball having placement indicia being printed thereon wherein said placement indicia are configured to indicate where the user should place their fingers and thumb for throwing various types of pitches for baseball or softball, said ball having an outer surface, said outer surface having a seam therein, said seam undulating along said outer surface for simulating the appearance of an American baseball, said placement indicia comprising a plurality of spots, each of said spots being positioned at strategic locations on said outer surface of said ball, said placement indicia being positioned exclusively on said outer surface spaced from said seam, each of said spots having a unique color with respect to each other, said ball having a resiliently compressible core thereby facilitating said ball to bounce from said placard toward the user when said ball is thrown against said placard; and an instructional pamphlet having instructions for throwing various pitches for baseball or softball, said instructions including descriptions of which placement indicia each of the user's fingers and thumb should be positioned for throwing each of the pitches for baseball or softball. 